From the Los Angeles Times

Composite Released in Attempt Kidnapping of 11-year-old from LAPD December 22, 2010 Los Angeles -- LAPD detectives released a composite sketch of a man who tried to kidnap an 11-year-old boy off the street in the Chinatown Area of Los Angeles on December 14, 2010. “Our victim is an excellent witness,” said Det. Amy Sundquist, who is assigned to the Robbery Section at Central Detectives.  “The suspect is Black with a small growth of beard under his chin, and was wearing a do-rag on his head.”

http://lapdblog.typepad.com/lapd_blog/

Governor, save inmate's life

Kevin Cooper's conviction in four 1983 murders is in serious question, particularly by a federal judge. It is up to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to commute his sentence to life in prison.

December 23, 2010

Even supporters of capital punishment should object to the execution of someone whose guilt is in serious question. That's the case with Kevin Cooper, who was convicted of four gruesome murders in Chino Hills nearly three decades ago. Now that the federal courts have failed to prevent Cooper's execution, the burden is on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to commute his sentence to life imprisonment.

On the night of June 4, 1983, three members of the Ryen family and an 11-year-old houseguest were hacked to death. Eight-year-old Josh Ryen, his throat cut, was left for dead, but survived. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department focused on Cooper, who had been living in a house near the Ryens' after escaping from a state prison. The day after the murders, Cooper checked into a hotel in Tijuana. Investigators theorized that he had traveled to Mexico in the Ryens' station wagon.

Cooper was convicted after Josh Ryen testified that he had seen a single individual or shadow at the murder scene. Other evidence included a bloody footprint on a bedsheet made by a shoe that supposedly was manufactured only for prisons, and the discovery in the Ryens' station wagon of cigarette butts of the brand smoked by Cooper.

But much of the evidence against Cooper has been seriously questioned, most comprehensively in an opinion by Judge William A. Fletcher of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, who dissented from a decision not to hear an appeal by Cooper. Fletcher noted that Josh originally said the killers were three white or Hispanic men (Cooper is black); that the warden of the prison where Cooper had been incarcerated said the shoe that made the bloody footprint was sold to the public; and that the cigarette butts, which were not found in the original inspection of the car, could easily have been planted. What's more, the station wagon turned up in Long Beach.

Fletcher also noted that a woman said that on the day of the murders, her former boyfriend had been wearing a T-shirt similar to one found near the crime scene. She also said he showed up at her house wearing blood-spattered coveralls. (The coveralls were discarded by a sheriff's deputy.) Another woman reported finding a second, possibly bloodstained, shirt on a road near the Ryens' house. And on the night of the murders, two or three men in bloody clothes were seen in a bar near the crime scene.

Finally, long after his conviction, as Cooper was pursuing appeals, a blood test was performed on the T-shirt; according to analysts, the test detected Cooper's DNA. At first, that seemed to be the incontrovertible scientific evidence that had for so long been elusive — but Fletcher noted that the blood on the T-shirt contained signs of a preservative used by the sheriff's office to preserve blood in a laboratory for later testing. According to the judge, that suggested the blood "had been planted on the T-shirt."

Fletcher wrote that Cooper "is probably innocent of the crimes for which the state of California is about to execute him." Whether or not that's true, the judge makes a compelling argument that sheriff's office investigators planted evidence in order to convict Cooper and discarded or disregarded other evidence pointing to other killers — creating not just reasonable but serious doubt about his guilt.

This newspaper opposes the death penalty under any circumstances, and we wouldn't object if the governor commuted the sentences of all 697 people on California's death row. But execution is especially outrageous when the prisoner may be innocent. Gov. Schwarzenegger should commute Cooper's sentence.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-cooper-20101223,0,1624806,print.story

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From the New York Times

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Parcel Bomb Explodes at Swiss Embassy in Rome

ROME — A parcel bomb exploded in the Swiss Embassy here on Thursday, seriously injuring at least one diplomatic employee, the police and embassy officials said. The attack, which the Italian foreign minister called a “deplorable act of violence,” rattled a city already on edge after violent student protests last week and ongoing security alerts across Europe this month.

The embassy said in a statement that a package containing a hidden explosive device detonated around noon when an embassy employee opened it, causing injuries to both of his hands. Those injuries appeared serious, said a spokesman for the Carabinieri, Italy's paramilitary police. The employee was taken to a local hospital.

Foreign Minister Franco Frattini of Italy quickly condemned what he called a “deplorable act of violence” and wished the employee a speedy recovery.

Italian news media said the employee was a 53-year-old Swiss man. Counterterrorism officials have opened up an investigation into the explosion, Italy's ANSA news agency reported.

It was not immediately clear who had sent the package or why the embassy had been the target. The embassy said that no one had claimed responsibility for the bomb.

After the explosion, bomb disposal experts checked the embassy, located in the leafy Rome neighborhood of Parioli, but the building was not evacuated, Reuters reported. "The ambassador is still on site," Maurizio Mezzavilla, a spokesman for the Carabinieri, told reporters at the scene.

The parcel explosion comes two days after Rome police discovered a defective explosive device under a subway seat. That package — containing tubes, wiring and a small amount of explosive powder — “was too rudimentary” to work, the police said.

Europe remains in the grip of heightened terror alerts after a botched suicide attack in Sweden by a British resident, terrorism arrests in Britain, Spain and France, and alarms in Germany.

In October, the State Department cautioned American citizens about traveling to Europe, warning of a possible attack.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/24/world/europe/24italy.html?_r=1&ref=world&pagewanted=print

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From Google News

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Obama orders stepped-up security for holidays

It was Christmas Day 2009 when Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab of Nigeria was accused of trying to blow up a Northwest flight to Detroit by detonating an explosive device hidden in his underwear. Obama, on vacation in Hawaii, didn't address the incident publicly for several days.

White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan released a fact sheet on holiday security today that included improvements made since that incident, as well as the mass shooting in November 2009 at Fort Hood, Texas, and the attempted bombing in New York City's Times Square in May.

Federal authorities have "taken steps to ensure past anti-terror failures are not repeated," Brennan said at the top of today's White House briefing, adding that past "deficiencies" are being addressed.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Americans shouldn't notice much of a change.

Brennan defended Director of National Intelligence James Clapper for not being up to speed about a roundup of terrorist suspects in Britain this week. Brennan said Clapper was focused on North Korea and the START nuclear weapons treaty but should have been briefed by his staff.

Here's Brennan's formal statement:

As we enter the peak of another holiday season, the homeland security, law enforcement, and intelligence communities are collectively focused on doing everything they can to prevent terrorists from disrupting the safety and security of Americans as they travel, spend time with family and friends, and enjoy holiday festivities both at home and abroad. We remain vigilant to attempts by al-Qa'ida and other terrorist organizations to carry out cowardly attacks against innocent men, women, and children, and we are working very closely with other governments to share all threat information immediately and to coordinate closely our counterterrorism and security activities. These international partnerships are critically important to our ability to identify would-be terrorists and to thwart their plans before they are able to act. In response to President Obama's direction, senior officials from departments and agencies met yesterday at the White House to review the latest threat reporting and to coordinate security and counterterrorism plans that will be in place during the holiday season. Protecting the American people from the scourge of terrorism is an ongoing and constantly evolving process. It is the goal of the counterterrorism community to stay several steps ahead of our terrorist adversaries so that we can stop terrorists dead in their tracks before they are able to carry out either small scale or potentially devastating attacks. That is what the President has directed, that is what the American people rightly expect and deserve, and that is what we are bound and determined to do.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2010/12/obama-orders-stepped-up-security-for-holidays/1

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From the White House

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At the United Nations Security Council, Young People Speak Up

On December 21 at the United Nations, Ambassador Susan E. Rice presided over an unprecedented meeting between the United Nations Security Council and a packed house full of young people representing China, Austria, Japan, and the four corners of the UN's own diverse back yard – Lower Manhattan, Harlem, Brooklyn and Queens.

The subject of debate? Future threats to global peace and security.

More than four months had passed since President Obama kicked off a forum with young African leaders by reasoning that the world's young people – “who are going to be providing the energy, the new initiatives, the new ideas” – deserve a seat at the table.

With “Voices of a New Generation,” which began with an appeal by Ambassador Rice to send videos and essays on matters of peace and security, the United States introduced the same concept within the halls of the United Nations.

“Your lives are being shaped and sculpted by a world of challenge and change,” Ambassador Rice said in her opening remarks on Tuesday. “And by bringing your voices into this room, we remind ourselves not only that real lives are at stake in our deliberations. We remind ourselves that we, the grown-ups, are only the temporary stewards of the Earth, and that we owe it to you, the next generation, to provide a more peaceful world of growing prosperity, equality, democracy, and opportunity.”

Ambassador Rice then introduced three videos, concluding a two-week-long review of more than 900 entries from more than 90 countries. They belonged to:

• Fabiola Mercedes Estrada, a 17-year-old, from Venezuela;
  
  
• Gloria Ramazani, a 20-year-old from Goma, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and
  
  
• Oussama Bessassi, a 17-year-old from Tunis, Tunisia.

Responding to the videos, Council members addressed the concerns of these young people: the link between economic development and security, the persistence of gender inequality, the root causes of terrorism. Later on in the program, she introduced a video montage of submissions from 13 others who were exceptionally original and relevant to the matters at hand. You may view the montage below: (Video on site)

“I hope this is not the last time that the Security Council has the opportunity not just to hear from young people,” Ambassador Rice said, “but to work on behalf of young people, very consciously and very directly.”

Alex McPhillips is Press Officer, United States Mission to the United Nations

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/12/22/united-nations-security-council-young-people-speak

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(VIdeo on site)

My American Story: Volunteers Making an Impact

As someone who came to this country as a teenager, and worked long hours to create a better life for myself and my family, I know America's greatness flows not just from its laws and leaders, but from the extraordinary acts of everyday citizens. 

For more than 20 years – working with and for people from all walks of life who are striving to live the American dream – I have seen that greatness firsthand. As CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service, I know that everyday, in communities across America, citizens are finding solutions to community problems.

That is America's way. Americans have always believed in the idea that we can change things, we can make things better, we can solve problems, when we join together. 

Today, as so many Americans face hardship, we need that spirit more than ever.  In difficult times, national service and volunteerism are smart strategies that tap the energy and ingenuity of our greatest resource – the American people – to solve problems and get things done.

To expand the impact of volunteers on today's challenges, we have produced My American Story , a series of television PSAs that feature Americans who have stepped up to be a part of the solution.

From an Iraqi war veteran who serves with AmeriCorps helping fellow soldiers readjust to civilian life, to an RSVP volunteer who uses his life experience to help youth on probation; the spots show the power of people to improve lives and strengthen communities.

Set in iconic American settings — the Statue of Liberty, the Gateway Arch, Seattle's Space Needle, and Yosemite National Park — the PSAs remind us that service is fundamental to the American character, and that our nation is at it best when we serve others.

This holiday season is a perfect time to get involved. Visit Serve.gov, where you can search by zip code and interest area for a volunteer opportunity that's right for you.  And after you've served, share your story by submitting a video. See how your story connects to the American story.  

Patrick A. Corvington is CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/12/22/my-american-story-volunteers-making-impact

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From ICE

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HSI's Dallas Cyber Crimes Group busts child predators

Group's outstanding law enforcment efforts recognized by Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) not only conducts investigations involving drug trafficking and terrorism threats, it also protects children from sexual predators. Investigative and computer forensic special agents of HSI's Dallas Cyber Crimes Group expose predators who hide behind cloaks of anonymity and pseudonyms while prowling for prey on the World Wide Web.

Merging their investigative acuity and technological expertise, the Dallas Cyber Crimes Group identifies and apprehends child molesters who pass through the cyber portal and enter forbidden zones. Last year, the team arrested 29 individuals — a record number, equating to one child predator every two weeks. A large number of those arrests led to convictions.

Significant cases include:

• A 41-year-old Pittsburg, Texas man was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for child pornography violations.
  
  
• A former pastor, a church music minister and a trusted federal employee were arrested for exploiting children via the Internet—uploading, downloading and sharing files and videos depicting sexually explicit images of children, including those of infants and toddlers.
  
  
• A 68-year-old Bedford, Texas man was arrested for owned two million child pornographic images and videos. Law enforcement enforcement seized more than 50 terabytes—or one trillion units —of illegal data.

As a result of their efforts, special agents from the Dallas Cyber Crimes Group's received a group achievement award for outstanding law enforcement from the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA). FLEOA is the largest nonpartisan, nonprofit professional association that represents more than 25,000 federal law enforcement officers from more than 65 different agencies.

Honorees include:

• Eddie Basham
• Cynthia Manning
• Mike Jester
• Noel Jones
• Bradley Hudson
• James Pokorney
• Jesse Lara Jr.
• Howard Harris
• Jason Prasnikar
• Jose Delgado
• Patrick McGaha

"The depraved nature of exploiting children for one's own sexual gratification and the suffering and damage these crimes cause their victims is the incentive that propels our law enforcement teams to find these perpetrators and stop them in their tracks," said HSI Dallas Special Agent in Charge John Chakwin, Jr. "The work of the Dallas Cyber Crimes Group literally saves children from abuse that causes lifelong psychological torment."

Operation Predator is a nationwide ICE program to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child traffickers. ICE is also a member of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international coalition of law enforcement agencies that work together to fight child abuse online.

ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE .  This hotline is staffed around the clock by investigators. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.

http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1012/101217dallas.htm

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From the DEA

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Drug Dealers Who Attempted to Trade Machine Gun and Assault Weapons for Drugs Sentenced in Federal Court

Defendants Each Sentenced to Over 35 Years in Prison

DEC 21 --ATLANTA, GA - MARK ANTHONY BECKFORD, 43, and RANDY VANA HAILE, JR., 29, both of Atlanta, Georgia, were sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr. on federal drug and firearms charges for attempting to provide who they thought were Mexican cartel traffickers with assault weapons, including a machine gun, in exchange for kilograms of cocaine and marijuana.

Rodney G. Benson, Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Atlanta Field Division said, “Drug dealing breeds violence because dangerous criminals take extreme measures to protect their ill-gotten gains, as was the case in this investigation. DEA and the entire law enforcement community are committed to making our society safer by removing such criminals from the streets. This verdict and ensuing sentence was possible because of the concerted investigative efforts of our federal, state and local law enforcement counterparts.”

United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said of today's sentence, “These defendants tried to give assault rifles and a machine gun to purported Mexican drug cartel members in exchange for kilograms of cocaine and marijuana. They are a danger to this community and are deserving of their lengthy sentences. We are aggressively pursuing both the high-level suppliers of drugs in Atlanta as well as those who supply them with deadly weapons.”

“These men arrived armed to the teeth to conduct a major drug deal on the streets of metro Atlanta,” said Special Agent in Charge Gregory Gant of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). “What's more, they callously supplied guns to an undercover ATF agent, who led them to believe that the firearms would be delivered to members of a Mexican drug cartel. The potential for violence was clear. Today's sentence demonstrates the success that can be accomplished when agencies join together to address armed drug violators in our midst.”

BECKFORD was sentenced to 36 years, 6 months in federal prison, to be followed by 5 years of supervised release.

HAILE was sentenced to 39 years in federal prison, to be followed by 5 years of supervised release.

On September 14, 2010, a federal jury convicted the two defendants after a week-long trial. They were convicted of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana and attempting to do the same; possession of a firearm, including a machine gun, in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number; and possession of an unregistered machine gun. HAILE was also convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to United States Attorney Yates, the indictment, evidence at trial, and other information presented in court: In April 2009, agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) working for Atlanta's High Intensity Drug Task Force Area (“HIDTA”), and agents for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”), initiated an investigation of the defendants using a confidential informant. On April 15, 2009, BECKFORD traveled to San Antonio and met with the confidential informant and an undercover DEA agent posing as a source of supply for large quantities of cocaine and marijuana. The undercover DEA agent and BECKFORD negotiated for the purchase of marijuana and cocaine that the agent said he would deliver to Atlanta.

On April 22, 2009, in Atlanta, an undercover ATF agent met with BECKFORD, who was accompanied by HAILE, to further discuss the drug transaction. It was agreed at this meeting that BECKFORD and HAILE would provide an up-front payment of $25,000 in cash for transportation of the drugs to Atlanta. The following day BECKFORD and HAILE traveled to San Antonio, met with the San Antonio undercover agent, and delivered to him $25,000, which had been concealed in a secret compartment in their luggage. BECKFORD and HAILE agreed that they would initially take delivery of approximately three kilograms of cocaine and 500 pounds of marijuana, with more to follow if the drugs were of good quality. BECKFORD and HAILE agreed to pay for the drugs with a combination of money and firearms, including a machine gun and “AK”-style assault rifles.

On May 5, 2009, the day of the scheduled delivery, the undercover DEA agent and the undercover ATF agent met with BECKFORD and HAILE at a hotel parking lot in Smyrna, Georgia. In the parking lot, the undercover agents showed the defendants approximately 1,000 pounds of marijuana and 5 kilograms of cocaine contained in a U-Haul trailer. After inquiring about the cost of the entire load, BECKFORD and HAILE told the undercover agents that they could provide approximately $70,000 and numerous firearms to pay or trade for the marijuana and cocaine. The undercover DEA agent advised the defendants that they had 2 hours to return to the parking lot to conduct the transaction.

Later that day, DEA, ATF, and HIDTA agents and officers arrested BECKFORD and HAILE, who were driving a black Chevy Avalanche near the hotel parking lot. During a search of the Avalanche, agents discovered the following items: $70,000 in cash, a loaded .40-caliber Taurus handgun, two Norinco 7.62-caliber SK assault rifles, and a 9-millimeter, fully automatic M-11 machine gun, among other things. A search of the defendants revealed a Glock .45-caliber pistol in HAILE'S waistband.

After the arrest, agents and officers executed a search warrant at Jamaica Flava, a restaurant associated with the defendants. The search revealed two loaded 7.62-caliber assault rifles, a 12-gauge shotgun, a loaded .25-caliber handgun, and three plastic bags containing marijuana, among other evidence of drug trafficking.

This case was investigated by Special Agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the High Intensity Drug Task Force Area.

Assistant United States Attorneys Rodney D. Bullard and Bret R. Williams prosecuted the case. DEA Atlanta's SAC Benson encourages parents, along with their children, to educate themselves about the dangers of legal and illegal drugs by visiting DEA's interactive websites at www.justhinktwice.com, www.GetSmartAboutDrugs.com and www.dea.gov.

http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/states/newsrel/2010/atlanta122110.html

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